Planning on upgrading your wardrobe? Recycle some old gear to help save on something new.
H&M, M&S. Schuh, John Lewis, River Island and New Look all have schemes that let you swap old clothes for vouchers.
It’s a great way to clear the clutter and save money at the same time. Plus it’s far better for items to go to charity or get recycled than adding to a landfill.
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H&M clothes recycling scheme (£5 voucher)
Donate any bag of old clothes or unwanted garments into an H&M shop and you’ll be given a £5 voucher to spend as part of the H&M Garment Collection programme. In theory you’ll get a voucher per bag of clothes so you can get multiple vouchers. However there is a £25 minimum spend with each voucher.
So what can be in the bag? Well you don’t need to have any H&M products to get the voucher. And you can also donate any kind of textile, whether its curtains or knickers as the fabrics are all recycled.
You can also do the same at H&M’s Monki and & Other Stories brands. The latter also has a beauty recycling programme where you get 10% off their cosmetics if you take in your empty beauty product.
M&S and Oxfam’s Shwopping Clothes Exchange (£5 voucher/freebie)
There are two ways to get something back via Marks and Spencer and Oxfam.
Get a £5 off £35 voucher
Hand over your old gear at an Oxfam and you’ll also get a £5 voucher to spend on clothes in Marks and Spencer.
One item must be labelled M&S, and you can only use the voucher in the same calendar month. There’s a minimum £35 spend and it’s only valid on clothing, home or beauty.
I asked in a store a while ago if you can use the voucher with other offers and the checkout woman said she’d seen the vouchers be used with Sparks offers such as 20% off everything. So it’s worth grabbing one of these to use when those deals come around.
You can find your nearest Oxfam here and read the full terms and conditions.
Get a Sparks freebies
Or if you want to drop clothes off at an M&S Store you’ll be able to scan a QR code to receive a free treat via the M&S Sparks loyalty scheme.
It can be from any retailer, and the item doesn’t have to be clothing, with shoes, handbags, belts, hats, scarves, jewellery all taken, along with things like bedding, towels, throws and napkins.
The idea is that your donation will either be sold by Oxfam or recycled.
You’ll have to pop into a shop to see if it’s running there or not, but M&S say you can do this at most M&S clothing stores. It seems to work that you can get the Sparks treat every 30 days.
When I tried it the gift was a free pastry from the in-store bakery and I had 30 days to claim it. The M&S staff member who also tried it with me got the same promotion but I was told the offer will change and will be tailored to each person.
Clothes are still donated to Oxfam but you won’t get the £5 off voucher. My donation wasn’t checked to see if it included an M&S item.
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River Island x ReSkinned (£5 voucher)
This scheme requires you to send at least three items via courier to Reskinned. In return you’ll get a £5 voucher to use on purchases over £40 at River Island stores. They’re only valid for one month from issue, so don’t forget to use them.
Schuh “Sell Your Soles” scheme (£5 voucher)
You can get a £5 voucher to use at Schuh for every pair of shoes you donate. The shoes are donated to Recyclatex with around 98% of materials reused.
You can use your voucher online or in-store on items at full price costing more than £25.
John Lewis “Fashion Cycle” (£5 voucher)
John Lewis stores will give you credit for returning old clothes as part of the FashionCycle scheme. They’ll accept shirts, t-shirts, jumpers, cardigans, jackets, coats, shorts, trousers, jeans, childrenswear, dresses, jumpsuits, and skirts.
You’ll get £5 credit which can be used towards another purchase of at least £20 to use on menswear, womenswear and childrenswear. Only one voucher can be used per purchase.
You need to make the new purchase at the same time you return the items, and it’s in-store only.
The initial trial required you to donate items from brands sold by John Lewis but that’s no longer the case. You do however need to be a member of the free My John Lewis scheme.
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New Look and Hospice UK’s partnership (15% off)
Another scheme is over at New Look. You’ll get a voucher worth 15% off full-price New Look items if you donate a bag of clothing to a participating hospice charity shop. You’ll need to scan a QR code at the shop to get the voucher.
The clothes must be of a decent condition that the shops will be able to sell them on. The voucher can only be used once but you can continue to make donations in exchange for as many times as you want. You can only use the vouchers in New Look shops, not online.
George (10% off)
You can box or bag up 10 or more unwanted clothes and textiles and donate them at Asda. In exchange, you’ll get a 10% off code to use at George.
There are limits on the parcel size (50cm x 30cm x 30cm) and it can’t weigh more than 10kg. You’ll need to check in advance if your local store is participating.
Donate to cancer research via TK Maxx (no voucher)
You can take a bag of unwanted clothes to TK Maxx who will pass it on to Cancer Research to sell or recycle. Cancer Research will keep all the proceeds.
Donate to Zara (no voucher)
Zara will also take unwanted clothes that will be donated to those in need or sold by charitable organisations to raise funds. There’s no voucher for you if you do this.
Do any of these guys accept clothes that are torn/damaged/etc.?
How long do the schemes run for?
Hi! I have a lots of kids and adult clothes, and also some books and new plates.
I’m wondering where or how I can sell them for cash?thank you
Hi can you include shoes in the scheme.
Say an item is £50’s plus. Would l be able to use 2 vouchers on the one item or is it just 1 voucher per item or spend as long as it is over £25?
I think it’s just once per transaction
Can I take my old clothers which most are new to the new look in sheerness high street in Kent for money back of clothers
I’d say it’s worth just calling them up first, or popping in next time you’re in town just to check. But it should be running until at least 31st March according to the website.
Is there a maximum number of vouchers a store can give per person?
Do the vouchers have to be used in a time frame ?
2 per person
think its two years and can be used online
just wondered what size bag would you use. A standard Tesco/supermarket carrier bag?
Yes I think that would be ok.
Hello,
Can other similar textiles be recycled like shoes and belts?
Yes for H&M, not sure about M&S
Can the vouchers be used for H&M home or only for clothes?
Hmm, don’t know. If you find out do let me know
How many items do you take to H&I’m for a voucher
Thankyou
Can you use multiple £5 H&M vouchers for one shop?
I don’t think so – though you can always split the shop in two if you’ve more than one item.
Hi I got few man woman kids clothes and other items how to sell it to H&m?
To be honest with Oxfam, its better using the tag a bag scheme. You get nectar points whenever anything sells, and they can be used for anything more or less and dont have a time limit.
I never knew this was a thing! I’ve seen boxes where you can deposit your old clothes in my local H&M, but I never knew you could get a voucher for it! I’ve seen something similar in River Island too though I don’t know if you get a voucher for it.
Hi, when you take a bag of recyclable clothes in to H&M how many vouchers can a person get up to?. Thanks
do you get £5 for every item of clothing or like a bag full?
Just a standard bag full for each voucher
For H&M vouchers is this a standard old plastic carrier bag size? Can it be mixed clothing – t shirts, jumpers, jeans, hats? Is the quality/standard of the clothing important?
You can drop off your unwanted garments – no matter what brand and what condition – in all H&M stores across the globe.